Maritime

Safe Passage

In 2016 and 2015, Blank Rome won the Lloyd’s List North American Maritime Award for “Maritime Services – Legal.” In 2013, Blank Rome was ranked “Law Firm of the Year” in Admiralty and Maritime Law by U.S. News & World Report. Blank Rome Maritime is also ranked top tiers in Shipping for Litigation, Regulatory, and Financing in Chambers USA and recognized as a leading maritime law firm in Who’s Who Legal.

“This international firm is a bona fide titan of maritime law. It fields one of the most highly regarded
regulatory teams in the USA alongside stellar litigation and transactional practices,
and is also home to one of the premier governmental affairs groups.”

Please click here for a full listing of our Maritime Emergency Response Team (“MERT”) members.

Our MERT members are ready—24 / 7 / 365—to respond to pollution-related incidents and vessel casualties at a moment’s notice, and manage the potential civil and criminal consequences involved. In the event of an incident, please contact any of our members directly.

Safe Passage

Shipping remains the most important means of moving goods around the world. With nearly 95% of cargo imported to the United States moving through seaports, maritime law—directly or indirectly—affects businesses around the world. Increased global trade, rising energy costs, ongoing environmental regulations, and the threat of terrorism have converged to make this industry change course dramatically.

Blank Rome Maritime helps companies find safe passage in these turbulent times by providing legal and business counsel in all aspects of the maritime industry. The Firm’s notable combinations with the maritime practices of Dyer Ellis & Joseph in 2003, Healy & Baillie LLP in 2006, and Bell, Ryniker & Letourneau, P.C. in 2013 gave Blank Rome a solid foundation as the largest maritime practice in the United States. Our talented team of maritime attorneys are based in New York, Washington, D.C., Houston, and Philadelphia and serve the shipping industry worldwide with the aid of our unparalleled network of contacts in the industry and government.

Our success in serving the shipping industry includes a unique combination of regulatory, legislative, defense, and commercial advice and assistance. Our attorneys have knowledge and experience in matters involving vessel and corporate finance; structuring strategic alliances; compliance with state, federal, and international regulatory requirements; commercial, corporate, and general litigation; bankruptcy; insurance and reinsurance; tax; and defending against enforcement actions and criminal prosecutions. We also advise international clients on all aspects of maritime law. Our attorneys have helped resolve numerous vessel casualties and many of the most significant pollution incidents of the past century, including the Amoco Cadiz, Athos I, Cosco Busan, Deepwater Horizon, Exxon Valdez, San Jancito, Morris J. Berman, Torrey Canyon, and Amazon Venture spills.

Blank Rome Maritime has the knowledge and experience to get the job done. We look forward to serving our clients, and helping them secure safe passage.

Experienced Attorneys, Recognized in Their Fields

Blank Rome Maritime professionals are consistently ranked in the top tier of their practice areas by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia, Chambers USA, Asia-Pacific Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal. In 2013, Blank Rome was ranked as “Law Firm of the Year” for Admiralty and Maritime Law by U.S News and World Report and Best Lawyers.

Our maritime lawyers play a major role in many of the industry’s leading conferences and often write for, and are quoted in, leading maritime publications. Our pool of talent encompasses a wide variety of backgrounds and experience. Our attorneys include former U.S. Coast Guard and Navy officers, and representatives and senior staff from Congressional committees and high level officials of government agencies, including the U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others.

Among our attorneys, we have a professor of maritime law at the New York University School of Law, and several authors and editors of leading maritime treatises and textbooks, including Time Charters, Voyage Charters, The International Law of the Shipmaster, Maritime Security Handbook, and the Benedict on Admiralty volumes relating to salvage and carriage of goods by sea. Several of our maritime attorneys also lecture at the MassachusettsMaritimeAcademy’s OPA 90 Qualified Individual Training Program on legal issues related to pollution incidents, and are often called upon to serve as arbitrators and expert witnesses in foreign litigation and courts on issues of U.S. maritime law.

Global Reach

Blank Rome Maritime regularly handles complex, multijurisdictional, and international maritime and admiralty matters. Many of our maritime attorneys are fluent or conversant in languages other than English, including Cantonese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Hindi, Mandarin, Norwegian, and Spanish. Members of the team are admitted to practice in Australia, Canada, Greece, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Shanghai, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The attorneys in our Shanghai office bring a diverse collection of experience in maritime law and international business, and is well positioned to assist clients in China and throughout Asia and Oceania.

Complementing our Asian and Pacific practices, Blank Rome has a strategic alliance with Brussels-based Interel, a leading European public affairs agency. Through this partnership, we provide a seamless E.U.–U.S. legal and government relations service to companies increasingly impacted by decisions made on both sides of the Atlantic.

Litigation

Our maritime litigation practice has substantial experience defending criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement actions, insurance disputes, responding to environmental incidents and other casualties, and assisting those subject to government investigations. We also have more experience in maritime arbitration than any other U.S. firm.

Government Relations

Our maritime government relations practice can advise and advocate for you in the complex intersection of law and policy. Blank Rome’s experienced team of attorneys and lobbying and communications professionals can help you navigate these choppy waters and develop comprehensive strategies that lead to successful outcomes. Through our affiliate, Blank Rome Government Relations LLC, we can also provide strategic communications and public relations advice as a nontraditional means of solving problems.

Regulatory Compliance

Blank Rome Maritime’s regulatory compliance practice serves the shipping industry globally. Our services include regulatory advice for both U.S. and international operations; environmental notices, updates, and training for shoreside and shipboard employees; compliance program development; defense against civil, criminal, and administrative enforcement actions; and updates and analysis on legislative and regulatory changes.

Commercial Transactions and Finance

Through our extensive maritime and shipping contacts, we often make the initial introductions for companies and investors interested in making industry mega-deals; as a result, we have been successful in bringing many deals together. Our maritime commercial transactions and financial services practice structures, negotiates, and documents transactions, while simultaneously addressing any tax and regulatory issues that may arise. We help take companies public, guide buyers and sellers, and assist with bankruptcy and business restructuring.

Environmental

Blank Rome Maritime’s environmental practice has been involved in many of the most significant pollution incidents of the past century, including the Amoco Cadiz, Athos I, Cosco Busan, Deepwater Horizon, Exxon Valdez, San Jacinto, Morris J. Berman, Torrey Canyon, Nepco 140, and Amazon Venture spills. Our Maritime Emergency Response Team (“MERT”) is ready to deploy on a moment’s notice. We are well equipped to handle not only the civil consequences of such an incident, but also the potential criminal implications that are, more and more, a reality in today’s world.